


Bracer

by tatecorrigan



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Giveaway Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-06 02:50:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5400074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatecorrigan/pseuds/tatecorrigan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fill for giveaway prize winner mad-fallout-effect on tumblr, who wanted to see fluffy Max & Furiosa, wherein Furiosa builds Max a new leg brace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bracer

“You’re limping,” she observed. Instinctively he turned, concealing his left leg by leaning casually against the side of the salvaged Rig. So many broken-down shells had come back from the road war, dragged in, patched up, put back in working condition. And the War Boys, too. Currently two of them were dangling almost vertical down the front of the Rig, inspecting every inch of the machine for scrapes, cracks, and flaws. It was damn near worshipful. He shouldn’t have been surprised, after all that he’d seen in the Citadel before, but it made his brow furrow all the same. That and the pain.

“Max?” Furiosa stepped closer, hand tangled in a stained shop rag. “You okay?”

His teeth worked at the inside of his bottom lip momentarily. His eyes darted down. “S’fine,” he grunted.

Her metal arm reached out, settling against the frame of the door. “Prove it.” Her chin tilted up in a challenge.

He glanced over at her, teeth now chewing at his tongue. “It’s fine,” he repeated, insistent.

She said nothing, only stared at him. Her eyes were like the sky reflected in steel.

He stared back.

She didn’t blink.

Finally he shifted and shuffled a few steps across the sand. He winced to feel his gait so uneven, and his breath caught at the tight pinch on the outside of his knee when he settled his weight. Glancing up, he saw Furiosa nodding like she did when assessing a problem with the Rig.

“Do you want me to take a look at it? Or I could get one of the Boys…”

“Don’t need it.” His lips pressed together, thin under the pressure of his obstinence.

“Fine,” she conceded. Then she sighed like shifting gears, and turned to the engine.

 

A gentle series of knocks outside her quarters caused Furiosa to look up. Spark, a scrawny Pup with missing teeth, padded in softly, bringing the Imperator her supper on a chipped plate.

“Whatcha makin’?”

She leaned over the contraption, her bulky metal arm gripping while her right hand deftly twisted a thin screwdriver. “For Max,” she said. She leaned back, allowing the bundle of thin metal rods to fall against the inside of her thigh. “The Fool.”

Spark continued to look interested as he set the plate on her workbench. “Izzit a weapon?” He wondered, eyes wide.

Furiosa smiled. “Not quite.” She beckoned him forward, pointing at one of the hinges. “Ever notice how his leg catches when he walks? This will help. Should keep his leg moving in the right direction, help take the weight so he doesn’t hurt as much.”

“Like struts on a car!”

“Yes, very good!” She reached up to scruff the Pup’s head with her right hand. “Anything else you think it could use?”

Spark studied the brace for a moment. “Mmm…how’s it gonna hitch on?”

“Hmm…” Furiosa mused. “What do you think?”

The Pup pointed to either end. “Straps there, and here. Buckles to keep them on. Padded, maybe.”

Furiosa studied the suggested additions, nodding slowly. “Shine idea, Pup.” Spark beamed. “Run down to the supply stores, see if we’ve got anything that would work.” Spark nodded briefly before taking off, his excitement palpable as he darted down the corridor.

 

Days passed, and Furiosa’s labor continued. Finally she hoisted the contraption over her shoulder and descended to the garages, grabbing the arm of a Pup as he ran by. “Go find the Fool,” she instructed. “Need him in the repair bay.” The small boy nodded solemnly and shot off, small feet _plap-plapping_ on the dusty stone floor.

Max appeared like a storm cloud, quick and quiet and dark in the archway. Dust motes glinted in the weak sun that filtered around him. Wordlessly Furiosa extended the object toward him, metal clacking on metal. He stepped forward and reached for it, glancing at her from under his brow.

“To replace your old one,” she explained.

Max grunted wordlessly, turning it over in his hands, studying. He backed his way toward the wall, squatting against it slightly, then reached to make quick work of the broken brace still cinched around his leg. It clattered to the floor.

The new brace went on, buckles tightened around his thigh and calf. Max flexed his knee, testing the flexion. Gingerly he set his foot on the floor, easing his weight over it. A corner of his mouth quirked, then settled back down. There was no need to get excited. He stood up straight, cautious for the sudden, sharp pinch and the failure of his joint. It did not come.

An exploratory foot shuffled forward, then its mate joined it in a ready stance. One slow, tentative step, then another. Furiosa watched his legs intently, but stole a glance upward to his face. His lips turned up in a tentative smile. “Put your full weight on it,” she suggested.

Looking up at her, he leaned into his left leg, his right foot hovering. “S’not bad,” he finally offered. His arms shook slightly as he balanced before returning his foot to the floor.

Furiosa flashed her teeth in a satisfied grin. “Thought it might help,” she explained. Then she moved to leave. Max reached for her as she passed, cupping her shoulder. He didn’t speak, only studied her face. She stared back, a small smile playing across her lips. “Gotta get down to the pumps,” she gripped his shoulder and squeezed, friendly. “Pups say they found a nest of baby crows, gotta see if we can’t rescue ‘em from falling in,” she smirked.

Max nodded and let her go. He watched her leave, her head cocked as someone called to her from across the repair bay with some new task, some new problem that needed her attention, her time, her care. Max breathed deeply as he stood and watched. To anyone looking he seemed a little taller. He could stand up straight now. He had all the support he needed.


End file.
